The rigidity of your system comes from how known the rules about any given system are.

Before we get more into application, let’s look at different ways you can define magic for your games. Your story can even use these rules as points of plot where utilization or defiance of these rules leads to disastrous consequences. When you start to put your magic into a more rigid system you give yourself and your players points to interact with. Much like any given character has magic that follows strict spell casting rules, the magic that you use in your world, even for things that are not spells from the rule books, should follow similar restrictions and boundaries. Magic in the game and story should have at least some rules that players can understand and engage with. While this is clearly a worst case scenario, it’s important to remember that everyday magic in the game should not operate under the guise of Deus ex Machina. Worse still is that if magic can fundamentally change things around them, they may feel less in charge of their character and engage less in the story. This isn’t always the case, but if your players see magical things happening but cannot understand why or how, they have no way to interact with that story element. When a DM explains something by saying “it’s magic” they’re all but confessing that they don’t know, they didn’t think about it, and they don’t really care about the structure behind what happens. How Understanding Magic Systems Aids in Story Development

Instead we suggest that you understand the details of your world’s magical system. If your answer for any question is simply “it’s magic” your game can feel kind of shallow. While this is very convenient, it also leaves out a big part of the story. It allows for a lot of hand waving, unexpected plot developments, and is often exempt from scrutiny. Magic is the root of fantasy game play and storytelling.

Dnd magic icon